"I initially dawdled around, seeking to avoid wasting time on another presentation about problem solving and our endeavor to discern what the future may hold. As the briefing progressed, however, I began to see that FutureScape® represents a highly singular process, which begins with all the advantages of uninhibited and creative brainstorming, shifts to a rigorous winnowing down and categorizing of random thoughts and ideas and then culminates with a range of logical choices with the pros and cons of each. I slapped my head with the palm of my hand and said to myself: "Why didn't I think of that?" In a way, FutureScape® can be viewed as the improved, 21st Century version of the long relied upon, military staff study model."

Samuel V. Wilson
LTG, USA-Retired
President Emeritus
Hampden-Sydney College

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Contents   Back Cover

FutureScape® Planning Process

 

What everyone knows is what has already happened
or become obvious. What the aware individual knows
is what has not yet taken shape, what has not yet occurred.

Everyone says victory in battle is good,but if you see
the subtle and notice the hidden so as to seize victory where there is no form, that is really good.

— Sun Tzu The Art of War

The future is happening today and the challenge in
any type of planning process is to see and understand the dynamics of the big picture context in a realistic and coherent way.

To facilitate policy dialogues, strategic thinking/planning sessions and in its seminars and workshops, the Center
uses the FutureScape® planning process, an innovative new approach to visualizing the future as it is beginning to take shape. Irene Sanders, executive director of the Center, created the FutureScape® planning process now being used by major consulting firms, corporations and governments worldwide.

Based on chaos theory and complexity science, the FutureScape® planning process has proven enormously useful in helping organizations see, understand and influence the future. Whether you are developing policy recommend-
ations on a specific set of issues, developing a strategic plan for your organization or a specific project, it’s important to find ways to see and understand the multiple complexities
in the larger environment — nonlinear relationships, connections and patterns of interaction— as they are emerging.

First described in her book, Strategic Thinking and the New Science: Planning in the Midst of Chaos, Complexity and Change (The Free Press, 1998), a FutureScape® supports the process of visual thinking by helping us link our intuitive sense of events in the larger environment with what we already know and what the data indicate. This visual synthesis promotes insight about the present and foresight about the future — the keys to successful strategic thinking. By applying your thinking and planning resources to emerging phenomena, you have an opportunity to influence the future to your advantage.

Contact us for more information about FutureScape® briefings, seminars and certification program.

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